During operation, aircraft face an undesirable risk of ice accretion on forward facing components such as the leading edge of airfoils such as wings. Ice that forms on airfoil components can cause drag, loss of lift, and added weight. In order to avoid such problems, it is desired to provide an ice protection system that reduces ice formation on airfoil surfaces while also maintaining relatively low power expenditures by the ice protection system One such ice protection system is pneumatic de-icing.
In particular, pneumatic valves used in pneumatic de-icing systems are subject to freezing when the bleed air supplied from the engines has had insufficient moisture removal as the bleed air travels to the pneumatic valves. The pneumatic valves are typically located in unheated areas of the aircraft, and are frequently located such that they are the lowest point in the de-icing system to drain accumulated moisture. When the pneumatic valve is most required to function, in ambient temperatures below freezing, the valve may be subject to freezing and rendering the de-icing system inactive.